Personal Meditation: All Too Rare

“My meditation of Him shall be sweet.” – Psalm 104:34

Meditation in this present day may well be a lost miracle. In these feverish days there is little doubt to the wise Christian thinker that he needs to be spending time meditating; deep meditation on the right subject, or should we say, the right person. Is there truly any rest in this present racing world save the grave? How does one escape from the plans that tie him up tight as ropes? Or escape the labors that weigh him down like lead? Our world is in constant motion and most are holding on for dear life. Satan would have you think that there is absolutely no time for personal meditation. That is the last thing you should do, he causes you to think. And if that is what you are thinking, should the desire to meditate even enter your thoughts, you can be certain Satan is not wanting you to have any of it; and in that he is fairly successful.
God’s Word is saturated with the command to those who would follow and obey Him to meditate on His precepts, to think on His character, to thoughtfully observe His works, to be a student of Jesus, to carefully consider and dwell on the beauty of His Son. In fact, the Psalms and elsewhere say our meditation ought to be “day and night.” Paul directs us, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on these things.” Or, “O, how I love your law, it is my meditation all the day.” Or, “You keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you.” You cannot escape the fact that your mind is to find refuge in intentional meditation upon the person and words of the Lord Jesus Christ. Such devoted thought is indeed your salvation!
Yet, the entertainment of the world, the drivenness of your own work, the demands of your life, the fulfilling of your appetites, keep you from searching out with your whole heart the One who makes all things well. Your own interests keep your soul from hungering after righteousness, which is the only way you can ever find any satisfaction, any fulfillment anywhere in life. Genuine meditation, which alone satisfies, must be upon the person and character and works of the Lord Jesus and His Father.
You may think on your own sinful nature, but it must be seen alongside of Jesus’ atonement for it. If your meditation of your own sin inspires a calling out for God’s mercy, it is a good thing. But if you meditate upon yourself for the purpose of seeking out your own self-defense, it is vanity. Your meditation should always send you to fixing your eyes on the face and majesty of the Savior. You can never completely plumb His depths. You can never get to the end of Him. You will, if your meditation is guided by His Word, never become bored with Him. His mercies are new every morning. Jesus is never boring when your meditation has the directing influence of the Spirit of God. It is only boring when it is Spirit-less in its guidance, when your meditation drifts into self-seeking and dreaming about your own interests.
You must take time for meditation. Shutting out distractions. Getting alone time with your Savior, with His Word open before you. Meditating on a single verse or a whole chapter. Getting to know God and His Son more completely than anyone or anything else. To know Him and His Son is eternal life, and you can be certain, you do not know Him nearly well enough.
Meditation is spiritual breathing. Not meditating is to drown. Too many are drowning in the trivialities of life, without any struggle to grab hold of the life preserving life-line the Lord in mercy is throwing your way. Your mind needs to take hold of what real life is all about.
Don’t drown! Meditate!

“Jesus, the very thought of thee, with sweetness fills my breast; but sweeter far thy face to see, and in thy presence rest.”
(1st verse of Anonymous Latin hymn, 11th century, “Jesus the Very Thought of Thee.”)